AAR Cuda front and rear ride height

[!aarcuda1970$]

Hi guys and gals,  We purchased this vehicle in boxes and a couple of truck loads of parts, fast forward to Dec 2021, the car is pretty much together, full drive train in interior, all body parts and glass with 8 gals of fuel in the tank.  My concern is this, the stance of the car seems to be low in the front and high in the back.(previous owner had the rear springs re-arched)  I know that there are ways to set the ride height in the service man, but i like to keep it simple,  could someone give me a measurement from the bottom/center of the front crossmember to the ground and from the center of the rear wheel opening to the ground.  That should give me a very good idea as to where I should start. Thank you for the help.

[headejm]

Not specific for an AAR but this was my target for the front of my 1970 Challenger. The service manual instructions were confusing to me and all I did was turn the lower control arm screws until I got both fenders equally at this height.

[anlauto]

The rear end on an AAR should be slightly higher then a regular Cuda to compensate for the exhaust. It's not very easily adjustable, but if everything is new, it will likely settle down a bit as time goes on.

The front end on all Chryslers of that era are easily adjustable using the torsion bars of course. This should be preformed BEFORE you final front end alignment. YES, I'm sure there's "factory specs" somewhere, but in my opinion, because the rear end may not be to spec....I would suggest setting the front end where you like it, giving the car just enough rake to compliment the rear suspension...You don't want the front too high so it looks like it's in 4WD mode, but you don't want it too low either.....I'm sure you can find a nice balance ...

Here's some of the AAR's I've restored...All sit a little high in the rear, but like I said....they do settle down...

[!aarcuda1970$]

I would like to thank you for the responses, I have set the front fender at 25 inches  it does look much better, I will put it in the street this weekend and look at it from a distance.  Again  thank you for the help,  I appreciate all of the knowledge that is shared on this site. 

[MoparLeo]

Just to be clear. Ride height is a SUSPENSION measurement, not a ground to the fender lip measurement.
That is a "looks" measurement. It is ok to do it for looks but again you won't find it in official print anywhere. Can you imagine at the factory when the cars were assembled if the final alignment was done to where it "looks good" and not to a specification ??
The service manual is very specific. The alignment is done to the suspension (even if the fenders were off ) which is underneath the car supporting the body. I have never seen an alignment machine that measures "fender lip" clearance or has a spec for it.
AAR and T/A were the first cars from the factory with staggered tire sizes. That was specifically because of the exhaust exiting in front of the rear tires. Common knowledge if you have one of those cars.

[Ebody Edgar]

Those pictures posted of ride height are just plain wrong. Alan you should not post pictures of your poor workmanship.  Springs that "settle" a couple of inches are junk.  Trans Am Mopars are supposed to handle & not have their back end in the air. Period. The crap about the rear needing to be raised for the exhaust is BS and from 50 yrs ago.

Ride height indeed is set by measuring the front fender lip in the ctr and the rear wheel opening on the center
25.5- 26 inches seems to work well - that setting  is dependent on tires sizes.
Trans Am mopars should sit flat, ride height does indeed affect the alignment settings esp caster. 
If the OP wants to message me i will provide proper tech support to get the car set up properly but i am not going to do it here.  Setting the front end height is not that simple and i will leave the details to pm's with the OP.

[Brads70]

Welcome to the site! 
The " factory" specifications are measured like this illustration shows but I doubt most follow it, and adjust to personal preferences. I've never seen new steel leaf springs thats didn't settle some , so give it a couple weeks till you make your final adjustments. Torsion bar adjustments also effect the rear heights. Also the new Mopar torsion bars are not the same quality as years gone by, they " settle" some too.  If your not building a show car Firm Feel makes quality torsion bars. 

[anlauto]

Those pictures posted of ride height are just plain wrong. Alan you should not post pictures of your poor workmanship.  Springs that "settle" a couple of inches are junk.  Trans Am Mopars are supposed to handle & not have their back end in the air. Period. The crap about the rear needing to be raised for the exhaust is BS and from 50 yrs ago.

Ride height indeed is set by measuring the front fender lip in the ctr and the rear wheel opening on the center
25.5- 26 inches seems to work well - that setting  is dependent on tires sizes.
Trans Am mopars should sit flat, ride height does indeed affect the alignment settings esp caster. 
If the OP wants to message me i will provide proper tech support to get the car set up properly but i am not going to do it here.  Setting the front end height is not that simple and i will leave the details to pm's with the OP.

Interesting...most if not all the AAR's I posted still have their '048 rear leafs that have been subjected to new bushings and one of those leaf spring rebuild kits that come with new liners/clamps etc....EVERY single one of them have settled in after driving.
I really don't believe that the "Trans Am cars were built to handle" right off of the show room floor back in 1970....and all of them left the factory with the rear end higher then the regular Cudas being built.

Don't be afraid to post your knowledge about how to properly adjust and measure front end height, we're all here to learn Edgar.

[MoparLeo]

Let's be honest. The AAR and T/A was no more able to "compete" in any Trans Am race than taking a Daytona or Superbird would be able to do 200 mph on any track from the showroom floor. Just facsimiles to comply with NASCAR homologation requirements.

[anlauto]

  exactly